WASHINGTON – The Trump administration illegally used national park fees to keep parks open during the 35-day government shutdown in December and January, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office said on Thursday.

The GAO said the Interior Department violated federal appropriations law by using entrance fees paid by visitors to national parks, which are supposed to be used for their maintenance and enhancement.

During the shutdown between Dec. 22, 2018, and Jan. 25, 2019, which was the longest in U.S. history, the Interior Department directed National Park Service staff to keep national parks accessible, keeping minimal staff on site. That raised concerns for NPS employees over public safety and resource protection.

During the shutdown, parks like Joshua Tree and Yosemite in California that remained open with limited staff faced sanitation and health issues like overflowing toilets and trash cans.

The Interior Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The GAO investigation stemmed from a request from Democratic U.S. Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico and U.S. Representative Betty McCollum of Minnesota, who had raised concerns that keeping the national parks partially open was aimed at “limiting the public relations fallout” of the shutdown.

More in Nation & World

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tensions between the White House and Pentagon have stretched to near a breaking point over President Donald Trump's threat to use military force against street protests triggered by George Floyd's death.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Fox News apologized Saturday for how it displayed a chart correlating the stock market's performance with the aftermath of the deaths of George Floyd, Martin Luther King Jr. and Michael Brown.

Jobs with state and city governments are usually a source of stability in the U.S. economy, but the financial devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic has forced cuts that will reduce public services — from schools to trash pickup.

Thousands of peaceful protesters have gathered in London and across Europe for the second consecutive weekend, protesting the death of George Floyd and systemic racism in the United States and around the world.